I have always considered family dinners a sort of magical thing. It gives the appearance of being the perfect family and has this wonderful feeling when you’re there. Something about crowding around the table and asking for people to “pass the mashed potatoes” or “toss me a roll” has this sense of wonder to it, your family almost never feels so close and together. Apparently, there is a reason for this. And that reason has a lot of good reactions from your brain and your body.
Family dinners are the greatest amount of time you typically get throughout the day and the best time to try to connect with your kid(s). It is a great time to talk to them about their days and see what’s on their mind or what they’re stressing about. This time that a child gets to talk with their family takes them away from the anxieties of everyday life and can relieve a great amount of stress.
Regular family dinners can actually lead to better health in the family as a whole. Because the whole family is sitting down together as a family a “proper” meal is typically made, including fruits or vegetables. And because parents are there everyone has to take a serving of the veggie or fruit leading to a more well balanced diet and better health, and this habit carries on to when they are adults. Better health benefits aren’t it either; family dinners can lead to a better future, too. It has been found that family dinner is the main time a teen talks to their parents, which leads to a better connection in the relationship.
Regular family dinners have also been linked to lower chances of high risk behaviors like participating in the use of recreational drugs, underage drinking, eating disorders, poor sexual choices, and better school behavior and academic performance. They can even lead to higher self confidence in kids because they often will get praised on what they have accomplished throughout the day. The “magic” of family dinners even leads to lower chances of depression in kids and teens.
Family dinners are a great experience and many of my favorite memories are of eating dinner with the family. A great thing to do at dinner is to go around the table and have everyone talk about their day. If this leads to a lot of “not much” or “oh, you know, same old thing,” ask for three random things that they enjoyed during their day. Family dinners are a very important time during the day and throughout your children’s life. They have so many added benefits besides that magical feeling that fills the room when the family is finally getting together and getting along. They are simply great for both your family and you.